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Advanced courses for city students to be discussed Thursday

By Sarah Favot, sfavot@lowellsun.com

Updated:
02/20/2013 12:37:06 AM EST

LOWELL -- Lowell High School has the Latin Lyceum program for advanced students, and two School Committee members would like to see the same kind of model in the district's middle schools, but school-district administrators say the district's focus should be on differentiated instruction for all students, not just high performers.

A report on committee members Kim Scott and Kristin Ross-Sitcawich's request said while exam schools "may have value for select students, the idea does not seem to be a right fit for the Lowell middle schools at this time."

The report was written by Assistant Superintendent Claire Abrams in meeting with middle-school principals and district administrators. It will be discussed at Thursday night's Curriculum subcommittee meeting.

Abrams noted five of the district's eight middle schools are classified as Level 3, according to state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education standards. Many of the district's resources, including a District Support Team, are focused on improving Level 3 schools to Level 1. Superintendent of Schools Jean Franco adopted a goal this year to increase at least 10 percent of schools one level on the state assessment.

In a post on her School Committee blog, Ross-Sitcawich said she was told by some middle-school principals they were not in favor of an exam school because the high-performing students would be taken out of their individual schools' performance scores.

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The report also showed there were disparities among the district's middle schools about what enrichment opportunities are available for students.

"If we are truly building a force where all schools have the capacity to move to the next level or beyond, we should at some point in the future be able to offer many more engaging, enriching opportunities for all students," Abrams wrote.

One idea outlined in the report is that students at the middle-school level could take a high-school Algebra I class and get a high-school credit. A similar model could be used for the language and literacy, science and social-study coordinators and teachers.

Both Ross-Sitcawich and Scott said an exam school would make the public middle schools a more competitive choice for parents of advanced children, who have the options of sending their children to private schools, charter schools or moving to a suburban town for its public-school system.

"We, as a school system, need to be more competitive in the education marketplace," Ross-Sitcawich said. "This is just one component of that. There has to be a component within each of our schools for talented and gifted students."

She said some of the suggestions made by the administrators would be of benefit.

Scott said she was unhappy with the report because she and Ross-Sitcawich had asked for a feasibility study.

"In an ideal world, they would do it, but if not, they at least would have come back with a response that said what they were going to do to raise the bar for these kids," Scott said.

She said instead of "racing to the top," she feels as though the district is "racing to proficient."

"I think what I hope to see come from it, whether it be an exam school or a hybrid of such. Each of the schools have to embrace it for it to work," Ross-Sitcawich said.

The subcommittee, which meets at 7 p.m. at the Rogers School, will also discuss a preliminary report on a request by Scott and Ross-Sitcawich on sending more students to their neighborhood schools.

The report shows that on average 50 percent of students in the district attend schools in their neighborhood.

Administration is waiting on a report from a consultant company on enrollment projections, final approvals on the city's newest charter school, transportation information and data on student assignment based on parental choice to draft a final proposal, which may have several options, will have public discussion and will need to be reviewed by the city's legal counsel.

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